Mike Vanderboegh stole some of my thunder [ and that’s OK :) ] with his commentary upon my LBE Part I article. He made the point that sometimes the rifleman only needs the bare essentials of rifle and ammunition, allowing the rifleman to strip down to just a simple gear for carrying spare magazines.Gabe Suarez has an excellent set of rifle-fighting instructional DVDs in which he uses a Rifle Fighting Bag from SneakyBags. The Rifle Fighting Bag is simply a hip bag with internal pockets to hold magazines upright and an external pouch to dump expended magazines. In fact, it is basically an improved version of the AK-47 magazine-carrying bag.
The concept is intended to shorten the time and the amount of muscle movements required to remove an empty magazine from the rifle, stow it, grab a fresh magazine, and insert it. To prevent the bag from flopping around, it has three straps that go across the opposite shoulder, around the waist, and around the thigh.I’ve used it at the range to practice with, and will use it at upcoming rifle training sessions. The SneakyBag Rifle Fighting Bag is made of heavy nylon with adjustable straps. It is comfortable to wear (particularly with the wide pad on the shoulder strap). Plus, it has the added benefit of being somewhat nondescript when the top flap is closed and the bottom two straps are stowed.
As Suarez says, to the uninformed it looks like a "tactical diaper bag."
Think about what situations you may face in your area, and make provisions accordingly.
Remember:
1) Stealthy keeps you alive.
2) There's no such thing as "too much ammo."
'Til next time....
I heartily disagree. just "Rifle and Ammo" is never enough. A VOK, H2O and some minor food are always required. Even in Urban/Suburban areas, you might have to hide in ambush beside a road and moving will not be an option, so some water is in order. Some one might get shot, duh.
ReplyDeleteMagazines, should be collected if possible after use :-), as they will be in limited supply, +1 for the SKS and Garand shooters. There are also some things that are nice to have even in the suburban jungle, like a crowbar, remember all that free food and water around, those that abandon their homes to get out of the way of the fighting will lock the door, sure you can shoot the lock off, but you attract a lot of attention.
There is a reason, even with logistics and supply, that "regular" .mil, carry a bunch of crap.
I think the sneaky bag is a much better alternative, to a ammo only load out.
Well, nice bag, but expensive for most of us peons out here. Dropping ~$100 on just an ammo+ bag is nuts.
ReplyDeleteMight I suggest surplus US or combloc stuff? It's gobs cheaper. Or if you're a garage sale peruser, camera bags can be had for a buck or less... Then there are cargo pants/BDU's found on sale...
I'll spend my few extra $$ on surplus gear, ammo and food, etc., thank you very much. For less than a C note, I can afford gas to the local surplus store, outfit a couple of folks with that type of gear and still take the little lady out for dinner.
bobcat
I'm going to e-mail Mike a few photos--I have an improvised rig for stripper clips, and I'm sure it'll be of interest for a lot. I'm thinking it'll do best in with other such things as a praxis post though.
ReplyDeleteFunny, word verification is "preptics." Is that what you call it when you're preparing?
Any decent laptop bag with "loop" interior (they usually come with "hook" dividers that can be reconfigured) can easily be set up like this with a little ingenuity employed.
ReplyDeleteI've got several I picked out of dumpsters. One's set up for my Kel-Tec Sub2k/Sig 226 combo.
Another could EASILY handle a 16"Bbl carbine broken down.
I also have a large "fanny pack" that holds 2 water-bottles along with mags, FAK & etc.
Nalgene/aluminum water-bottles can be "silenced" through creative use of baggies or even "dry" condoms as "liners." purge the air and collapse the "liner" as you drink to prevent "sloshing" noises - or carry a "collapsible" cup and share a bottle among all so there's no partial-bottles to make noise...
Thoughts...